the solitude of the heart
by pennilee
Summary: A series of drabbles chronicling the shinobi of yesterday and today's bold wishes and hopes against the sway of destiny. Centered on hashimada and narusasu. current: Viva la Vida; Sasuke had the world.
1. paradise

**a series of drabbles inspired by these songs.  
unbeta'd**

* * *

paradise- coldplay

From the moment they were born, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were fated to meet and uplift and doom the world in the process. They were two sides of the same coin paralleling the same goals and dreams, destined that day by the riverbank to forge a village of peace by deaths and betrayals.

They could've, and just might've been the best of friends or even something more. It was something Hashirama pondered everyday while absently holding the piece of leaf Madara peered through all those years ago and named the village Konohagakure- _the village Hidden in the Leaves_. And, he thought to himself secretly, perhaps Madara believed so too back then but, as usual, was too prideful to admit it.

But in the end they couldn't protect themselves against the weight of the world. And on that day, a piece of Hashirama died when he was forced to stab his first and one true friend for the dream they had finally made into reality.


	2. clarity

clarity- zedd

Naruto was the sun. He was so bright that Sasuke couldn't stay near him in fear of being thawed by the blazing heat that was solely Naruto. He was the bane and savior of his existence- being near him, Sasuke subconsciously understood, was melting his goal of killing Itachi.

It was a terrible, wanton addiction; after years of ice, his heart longed for the warmth of his idiotic laughs and heart-wrenching smiles desperately yet his mind kept telling him to shut the sun out before all his inhibitions are destroyed. Because Naruto was the sun, unfailingly rising each day to keep him alive in the barren ice.

For all those years of freezing his heart perfectly and creating an ice wall preventing anyone to enter and him to get out, he realized one day while chuckling over a stupid joke after training that wasn't even funny with Naruto, that his wall was no more.

He panicked. It was his heart. His vulnerable heart that he protected so carefully after the traitor invaded and nearly tore it in two.

_You can't just come in here, and take it!_


	3. mirrors

Mirrors

It was on a complete whim while waking up one dawn that Naruto suddenly had the revelation that Sasuke and he were reflections of each other. At first glance (and him, being the dork that he was, kept at that level), it would seem they were complete opposites. They were different- Sasuke was a moody prick with a stick shoved up his ass who pushed people away yet had everyone while Naruto had nobody but Iruka-sensei yet tried the hardest to gain the respect of others. They were absolute opposites- from social status to taste in food to their environments.

Nonetheless, there were moments that, under most circumstances, would've been dismissed as nothing but coincidences- accidents, maybe. But they weren't. Naruto _knew_ with certainty Sasuke felt them too; the time they seemed to understand each other without eye contact made him temporarily wonder if he was going insane. When he finally realized that although Sasuke's loneliness was different than his, the weight was the same and he was the only one in the world who truly perceived him for who he was, just _Sasuke_. Not the avenger, not the cool kid, not the last of the Uchiha. When he understood with astounding clarity that deep inside, away from all the external and behavioral differences, their souls were reflections of each other, yin and yang, sun and moon, forever balancing and giving meaning to their otherwise nameless existence.

He flipped over and turned off his alarm clock, gazing at the rising sun. Today was another day. Another chance to get the bastard back and he sure as hell wasn't going to waste it.

_Hold on, Sasuke. _


	4. viva la vida

viva la vida- coldplay; AU

Sasuke had the palm of the world in his hands. He was the rightful ruler of the Land of Fire, having fought bloody battles and conquered hundreds of cities with his own hands and a small but loyal army guarding him from behind. Everything should've been perfect- he had achieved everything that could be done and now, his name would go down in history as the genius conqueror in the history of the world.

Nevertheless, there were times when he would be hit with a sudden pain that would make him reel in dizziness for up to minutes. The faint images of the yellow-haired sunshine would then flit through his mind and only then would Sasuke calm, feeling as though he had gently wade through a field of sunflowers on a sunny day with him.

Naruto, the only one who was there every-time he needed someone, always until Sasuke ordered his execution the day he realized he was in love with him.


	5. arms

Arms

It was dawn and Sasuke was leaving Konoha.

He had this planned for weeks ever since dragged back unconscious after the shinobi war six months ago. After weeks of interrogation and solitary confinement, he was forced into a chakra limiter (which has already been taken off) and placed in Naruto's care after the latter so gracefully refused anything else otherwise.

Naruto was fine. He rambled carelessly when no one would talk to him (granted, he didn't say anything either) for hours. He bought buckets of tomatoes and onigiri even though he knew Naruto wouldn't even eat one. He took him out whenever he could, often up the Hokage Mountain where they wouldn't talk for hours and just let the soft winds settle. When demanded why he was doing all of this, whether the blonde pitied him because don't you fucking dare, Naruto shook his head and scratched his head a little to the left like he always did (what a strange quirk) and said, "I want you to be happy, Sasuke, because I love you."

Why?

What did Naruto see in him that was worth saving?

Naruto of course couldn't hear the torment in Sasuke's mind and went right back to cooking the tomato soup, unaware he had completely changed the Uchiha's life as he was always prone to do. He was one of the very few (the only one now) who could squeeze his heart and choke him. At first, he thought about staying just to hurt Naruto later (with a chidori to the chest, the first and final betrayal). But Sasuke slowly picked up fragmented pieces of the nostalgic feelings during his genin days as he continued his stay. Now, suffocating in the beautiful warmth of all that is Naruto, he wasn't sure he wanted to leave anymore. He was comfortable, loved. He was treated as Sasuke. Not the survivor of the Uchiha clan, not the reluctant hero of the Foruth Shinobi War, not an international s-rank criminal.

That night, Sasuke went to Naruto's bed and Naruto wordlessly shifted to make room. They slept together, their bodies never once touching.

They did this again for many fortnights, never touching until Sasuke stopped returning to his own room and one rainy morning found himself wrapped in Naruto's secure arms with his head tucked under the blonde's chin snugly. He decided then he must leave, leave soon before this stinging in his chest escalated to a shattering heart attack. Nonetheless he still soundlessly returned to the bed every night and never objected nor mentioned Naruto's embraces.

But the sun rose and although Sasuke's kunais glistened enticingly beneath the bed, he couldn't muster the will to wrench out of the warmth and flick his sharingan on. He quietly rolled into Naruto's chest and breathed in the musky scent and wrapped his arms back, because his home was in Naruto, the man who unflinchingly believed, loved, and saved him when no one else could.

Naruto only smiled and tightened his grip just a bit more.

_I hope that you'll catch me, 'cause I'm already falling –_

_I'll never let a love get so close, but you put your arms around me and I'm home_


End file.
